keestha

Staffed by Australian diplomats? That will be a first, they don't even have Australians working at the embassy, they are Thai. You need assistance or a visa to Australia then you have to deal with thais who don't even know what the capital of Australia is.

All Embassies and full Consulates have Australian staff.

They also have locally engaged staff (LES) to assist. These people typically do the lessor level of work required in an office environment such as counter work. The cost of bringing staff from Australia to perform basic office functions would be prohibitive. (Last I heard the cost was about a half million dollars per year)

LES can also be Australians hired locally, who are being paid a local salary. Mostly LES are poorly paid, not talking about Australian missions. specifically.

Quite an amusing thread, about this lady. I don't have to go to that office, but if I would have to, I would almost feel disappointed not to be hassled by her, you're fully prepared for it mentally, and if it doesn't happen, it's all for nothing.

Would "excusez moi, no English speak" be the easiest way to disable her?

I think the whole bar beer / sex trade business is dying

Don't think Thai people would agree with this statement. Don't forget the vast majority of commercial sex transactions take place between Thais, plus women from some countries in the neighborhood. Police might put up the occasional show, but try to wean Germans off drinking beer, if you get my drift.

Aha, will venture further up next time, thanks. No need to put on a burka in order to be able to use the ladies parking lot.

Yesterday I went to the airport for the first time since last year when the old parking lot was still in use.

The ground floor of the parking building was closed, and the third floor ladies only. So my only option was the second floor, where there were hardly any slots free, took time to find something.

Is the ground floor always closed? And do they really prohibit men from parking on the third floor also when the second floor is full? Or do they maybe mai pen rai tolerate farang gentlemen parking in the ladies? (hehe, angling for positive discrimination).

Female readers, I am aware in Thailand there have been multiple incidents of women being harassed at parking lots, so I appreciate there is ladies parking. But it is a bit daft having to circle around repeatedly, suspecting there is plenty of space one floor up, reckon there cannot be that many unescorted lady drivers.

The slots were a bit narrow also, OK for a pick-up, but dodgy for a minivan.

Cannot say I am looking forward to the next time going to the airport. If it is always this way, I prefer the old situation, <deleted> as it was.

I hope the fearful tourists does not include farang tourists. Most of us not so stupid as to see jellyfish as warning of earth quake. Well, maybe majority....

Does include I'm afraid. Superstition is a universal thing, plenty of western university graduates believing in astrology for instance. A few years ago some well known Brazilian "psychic" felt the need to predict another large tsunami at the Andaman coast, it caused quite a few westerners to change their travel plans. The thing really had an economical impact, as far as I am concerned they should have sent the guy to jail for a few years.

Well you can get confused taking money from customers all the time and giving change. When I was very young they taught me to keep the bill the customer gave me in my hand whilst giving him the change. Because 1) he cannot claim he gave you a 1000 Bongo bill whilst actually it was a 500 and 2) putting the 1000 Bongo bill on the table is dangerous, he could take it back plus the change. (happens more often than you would think).

Having played the cash sales game for over 40 years now, it can still occur I get confused, there is many things happening at the same time, people asking questions, telephone ringing and so on.

So I don't think the pastry lady was stupid, if you have never worked in a busy retail sales situation yourself it might be more difficult to understand.

Sorry your customer is your number one priority. If he gives you money for a trade you serve him. All other distractions can wait until you finish dealing with your customer.

Theory is easier than practice. You're standing behind the hotel counter, taking payment from a customer, and simultaneously you have to tell him the tour bus will pick him up the next morning at 07.30. People come in who need a room, you tell them you have availability, but they should wait just a moment. But then a very upset guest walks in who has been badly stung by a jellyfish, you need to instruct the staff instantly to give her a baggie with vinegar and some cotton wool. Telephone rings, people want to make a booking, the least thing you have to do is tell them you'll call them back in a few minutes.

It is not like sitting in an office advising a guy about his retirement plan, seeing him off and leaning back till the next one comes. In a busy retail situation, if you don't give walk ins/telephone calls at least a bit of attention, they might take their business elsewhere. You cannot just finish dealing with the one customer and ignore everything else till you have time. And your multitasking skills are put even more to the test because in the process you continuously have to change languages.

Well you can get confused taking money from customers all the time and giving change. When I was very young they taught me to keep the bill the customer gave me in my hand whilst giving him the change. Because 1) he cannot claim he gave you a 1000 Bongo bill whilst actually it was a 500 and 2) putting the 1000 Bongo bill on the table is dangerous, he could take it back plus the change. (happens more often than you would think).

Having played the cash sales game for over 40 years now, it can still occur I get confused, there is many things happening at the same time, people asking questions, telephone ringing and so on.

So I don't think the pastry lady was stupid, if you have never worked in a busy retail sales situation yourself it might be more difficult to understand.

If somebody solicits answers to a practical question, he should thank or at least dispense a like or two when he gets useful replies.

But if someone just starts a discussion (like the OP in this thread), I don't think he is under any obligation to chip in again, you assume he'll be reading everything. Happened to me also that I started a thread with a statement which generated a lot of replies, and soon people commented on me not posting again, so I felt kind of forced to reappear on the scene, though I didn't really feel the need to make any additional statements.

Toilet Cleaning Day might in due course become a cultural highlight like Loy Krathong.

Sometimes people who are in a vulnerable phase of their life are posting, seeking guidance for personal problems. I tend to admire their courage, exposing themselves so much in a public forum. But then the keyboard tigers pounce on them mercilessly, and soon they withdraw into their shell.

Lemme guess.....computer crash? Or lower tech, electrical wiring problem?

Sorry for maybe going off topic. But good things can arise from free flowing conversation.

One recurrent theme is this thread seems to be that Thai people have become less friendly (maybe a good idea for another poll?).

If people ask me if in my opinion Thai people have become less friendly, I really don't know what to say.

Of course the Thais react to me in a different way than in the beginning, I settled in Thailand when I was 37 and now I am 61. Women find you less charming etc.

Also somehow in your beginning days you radiate enthusiasm and curiosity about the country which becomes less later on. The novelty of speaking Thai also wears off, in the beginning you are glad when people understand you, but later it is more like you are irritated when they don't.

If you really think that Thai people have become less friendly, difficult to say if you are the reason yourself, or that something really changed.

It is difficult to fill a vacancy for a postman, and often they end up hiring people who deliver shoddy work.

Anybody or his wife getting earthquake/tsunami nervous, consider a subscription to link tsunami warning system, comes from Germany, if wherever in the world an earthquake occurs which could generate a tsunami, you get a text message straight away, even before the event can be found in the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center) website.

@KarenBravo, I also don't understand the Greenland thing.

In the same area, some people noticing a light or distant earthquake, others not. Does it maybe depend on the consistency of the ground, like a thick or a thin layer of sand on top of the layer of rock? Maybe some Californian who has lived through a lot of quakes can shed light on this.

Sigh.....it has always been a universal traffic rule that it is prohibited to park on a bridge.

No joking matter. In the Netherlands, once a young woman with very long hair died after her hair was caught in the escalator.

All that is needed, is that the police has a list of resident foreigners who can be called if there is a need for an interpreter. For instance a French speaker whose English is also good, could help a lot easing communication problems, even if he doesn't speak much Thai. I am certain a lot of people would be willing to help out.

Just one poster mentioned Chaindrite, any building supplies store has it, Thais pronounce it like "shelldry". It is an unpleasantly smelling brown liquid, Thai people treat wood with it using a paint brush, before putting the wood in place. What is often forgotten is that the treatment in order to be effective should be repeated yearly, and definitely it doesn't give full protection.

By the way the first time I used it in Thailand, the smell brought back childhood memories, helping my father to do maintenance on wooden fences. In Holland at the time it was called Carbolineum, they banned it in the sixties or the seventies because applying the stuff yourself isn't exactly good for your health.

The adjective "tropical" doesn't give much of a clue in these parts, "arctic" for instance would narrow down the options considerably. But a situation described as " it had a pool which was supported on one side by concrete stilts that bedded into a river" is rare, could ring a bell somewhere. Hope you find your paradise.

Welcome to the club Tapster. Check out a recent thread here scroll down a bit and soon the discussion turns to termites.

My experience is mainly with foreigners coming to Thailand and starting small businesses, I fit in this category myself.

Late eighties/early nineties, it was not so difficult to make money with a bar, restaurant, guesthouse or travel agency. Thai people still didn't know how to run a business geared for western customers. Simple example: my first business was a guesthouse/restaurant/bar I started in Hua Hin in 1994. The first 2 years, I sold like 25 breakfasts per day, Thai people still didn't know how to make simple western food. But after 2 years, they had discovered it is not so hard to fry eggs and toast bread, and I was down to 5 breakfast per day, just the people staying in my guesthouse.

Nowadays when the tourism starts developing somewhere, Thai people will flock in right away and open farang geared businesses.

The growing beach resort where I have been residing since 2000, I have seen westerner run restaurants, bars, diving schools, travel agencies and guesthouses come and go, tough luck with high rents and lots of competition.

By the way nice survey Scott, I appreciate what you're doing, keep them going.

So there was 3 of them on a Motorbike and its the other blokes fault

Why, it is perfectly legal for 3 people to ride on one motorbike/scooter, they are designed for 3 Asians to fit on them.

Made in China still has a questionable reputation all the way from Istanbul to Bangkok.

Always loved fireworks, but stopped buying them a few years ago, two accidents (people lightly injured) was enough for me.

On one occasion a large peace exploded on the ground instead of taking off, which caused an area of over one rai to be covered in dense white smoke which made your eyes water.

New Years Eve time in Europe, Dutch and Germans flock to Belgium where the laws are laxer, to buy the dodgy stuff.